Lowering the Base of Class E Airspace on the East Coast

Consultation has concluded


17 NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE - The Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) has been submitted to CASA for their review.

17 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts are pleased to advise the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Rebate Program opened for applications at 9am Friday, 12 August 2022. Please see the link below:

https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/automatic-dependent-surveillance-broadcast-rebate-program

10 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - Engagement Update document and a copy of the Industry Briefing pack uploaded under Consultation Update 10/08/2022.

Airservices would like to thank all airspace users and aviation industry stakeholders who provided feedback on our proposal to lower the base of Class E airspace along the east coast of Australia.

We began consultation with industry on this proposal throughout January and April 2021. We have incorporated industry feedback into a final proposed design to lower the base of Class E from 8,500ft to 6,500ft above mean sea level along the east coast between Melbourne and Cairns.

The proposal will enhance safety of Australian airspace by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources without increasing the ongoing cost of service provision.

While Australia’s airspace architecture has remained relatively unchanged over the last two decades, the traffic volume and airspace complexity along the east coast has grown significantly. The primary driver for the proposal is to reduce the collision risk between Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft and support pilots to reduce reliance on visual sighting of aircraft and self-separation.

The volume of final proposed Class E airspace has been optimised to limit the change impact on non-transponder equipped Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operators that could not obtain an exemption. This forms our commitment to facilitate equitable access for all airspace users, while improving the overall industry safety outcomes.

Fitment of upgraded surveillance equipment for VFR operators will enhance safety for their operations as well as the safety of other airspace users. Applications for the ADS-B Rebate Scheme are expected to open in August 2022, and further updates on the status of the program can be found at Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B) Broadcast Rebate Program | business.gov.au.

Collision Risk Modelling by Airservices shows that the proposed airspace change also lowers the calculated collision risk per flight hour for IFR and VFR aircraft in the remaining volume of Class G airspace.

We continue to work closely with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and CASA to ensure any airspace change proposal (ACP) aligns with Australia’s national airspace policy and the proposed Australian Future Airspace Framework while maximising overall industry benefits.

Airservices plans to submit an ACP with the supporting safety and economic impact analyses, and the insights from industry engagement for CASA’s review early in the third quarter of 2022, following the conclusion of the engagement period.

We invite industry to ask questions and provide feedback through the Airservices Engage website by Friday 12 August 2022. The resulting insights from this final engagement process will be provided to CASA as part of the ACP submission.

Implementation of the proposal will be subject to the outcome of CASA’s ACP review and associated regulatory process. An implementation date will be determined in consultation with CASA, and as soon as that determination has been made, we will advise industry through our normal consultation channels.


Contact

If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact our team by emailing contactAMP@AirservicesAustralia.com


17 NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE - The Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) has been submitted to CASA for their review.

17 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts are pleased to advise the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Rebate Program opened for applications at 9am Friday, 12 August 2022. Please see the link below:

https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/automatic-dependent-surveillance-broadcast-rebate-program

10 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - Engagement Update document and a copy of the Industry Briefing pack uploaded under Consultation Update 10/08/2022.

Airservices would like to thank all airspace users and aviation industry stakeholders who provided feedback on our proposal to lower the base of Class E airspace along the east coast of Australia.

We began consultation with industry on this proposal throughout January and April 2021. We have incorporated industry feedback into a final proposed design to lower the base of Class E from 8,500ft to 6,500ft above mean sea level along the east coast between Melbourne and Cairns.

The proposal will enhance safety of Australian airspace by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources without increasing the ongoing cost of service provision.

While Australia’s airspace architecture has remained relatively unchanged over the last two decades, the traffic volume and airspace complexity along the east coast has grown significantly. The primary driver for the proposal is to reduce the collision risk between Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft and support pilots to reduce reliance on visual sighting of aircraft and self-separation.

The volume of final proposed Class E airspace has been optimised to limit the change impact on non-transponder equipped Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operators that could not obtain an exemption. This forms our commitment to facilitate equitable access for all airspace users, while improving the overall industry safety outcomes.

Fitment of upgraded surveillance equipment for VFR operators will enhance safety for their operations as well as the safety of other airspace users. Applications for the ADS-B Rebate Scheme are expected to open in August 2022, and further updates on the status of the program can be found at Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B) Broadcast Rebate Program | business.gov.au.

Collision Risk Modelling by Airservices shows that the proposed airspace change also lowers the calculated collision risk per flight hour for IFR and VFR aircraft in the remaining volume of Class G airspace.

We continue to work closely with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and CASA to ensure any airspace change proposal (ACP) aligns with Australia’s national airspace policy and the proposed Australian Future Airspace Framework while maximising overall industry benefits.

Airservices plans to submit an ACP with the supporting safety and economic impact analyses, and the insights from industry engagement for CASA’s review early in the third quarter of 2022, following the conclusion of the engagement period.

We invite industry to ask questions and provide feedback through the Airservices Engage website by Friday 12 August 2022. The resulting insights from this final engagement process will be provided to CASA as part of the ACP submission.

Implementation of the proposal will be subject to the outcome of CASA’s ACP review and associated regulatory process. An implementation date will be determined in consultation with CASA, and as soon as that determination has been made, we will advise industry through our normal consultation channels.


Contact

If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact our team by emailing contactAMP@AirservicesAustralia.com

Consultation has concluded

Please ask general questions relating to this proposal here. Note, this is not formal feedback to be provided as part of our submission. Your questions may be published.

  • Can you explain the light blue & purple shaded areas on the map. They are different to the list of aerodromes. For example, Boonah & Evans Head appear in the light blue area on the map, signifying they are in the 4500' CLASS E area. However, the aerodrome list states that class E starts at 6500'. Also, I thought Ballina & Mangalore would be fitting into the 4500' area.

    AB1900 asked about 3 years ago

    Hi, 

    Thank you for question. Boonah and Evans Head are 6500FT and shown in purple on the airspace proposal diagrams. For operational reasons, our current model is for 6500 ft AMSL base of Class E at Mangalore and Ballina.

  • Where are the high and medium density airspace areas currently in Class G that will revert to Class E at 1500 AGL?

    kgwilson asked about 3 years ago

    Please see the charts outlining the extent of the airspace impacted by this proposal, that have now been added to the Engage page.

  • Hi, Was the webinar on the 27th recorded? Kind regards Peter

    PeterEvans asked about 3 years ago

    Hi Peter,  the webinar was recorded for internal purposes only to assist in notetaking. The PowerPoint presentation can be found on the Enage page under "documents". 

  • Will vfr aircraft without transponder but fitted with low cost adsb be able to operate in class E? Or must they still be fitted with expensive transponders?

    Planesmaker asked about 3 years ago

    This change is proposed to proceed with the current equipage requirements as per the existing regulations.


    As such, any VFR operator in Class E airspace will be required to have: 

    1. IFR ADS-B OUT; or

    2. Mode S transponder; or

    3. Mode A/C transponder; or

    4. Integrated Traffic Awareness Beacon System (TABS) device

  • What is the rationale behind the change to AGL from AMSL? I have a concern that pilots operating in vicinity of the G/E boundary will be at a higher risk to a safety occurrence (particularly between aircraft with XPDR with to one without.

    David V asked about 3 years ago

    The use of AMSL becomes problematic with respect to terrain, when introduced below 8500 ft. 

    1500 ft AGL provides a standard that considers the height of uncharted obstacles and the minimum 1000 ft terrain clearance as per MOS Part 173.

  • Could you confirm whether the intent is to lower the E-Class (from 8500 to 1500 Lower Limit) across the entire J-Curve or to step down the E-class LL over more congested airports? Could you expand on the reduction of e-class "in segments between Cairns and Melbourne." Is the intent for E-Class to be lowered to 1500LL AGL?

    DaveZ asked about 3 years ago

    Yes, the intent is to lower the base of Class E to 1500 ft throughout the J-Curve, not just step down over aerodromes. Downloadable maps showing the full extent of the change between Cairns and Melbourne have now been added to the Engage page.

  • When listening to the Webinar on 27 January 2021 it seems that their are still a lot of issues not resolved. Being a project of this proportion I would assume a thorough safety case has been performed with all the probable issues described and mitigations provided. Could the results of this safety case be made available?

    Global asked about 3 years ago

    Safety cases are internal documents which support our decision-making. Airservices protocol is not to release safety cases.

  • At CTAF airports, will IFR aircraft be able to get a clearance to enter Class E on the ground instead of airborne?

    Tom M asked about 3 years ago

    We are working with our SME’s to confirm all operational details, but the intent is to provide IFR operators with an airways clearance on the ground, prior to becoming airborne.

  • Does this mean that VFR traffic must be transponder equipped to fly in this new class E space between 1500 and 8500?

    Matt R asked about 3 years ago

    This change is proposed to proceed with the current equipage requirements as per the existing regulations.


    As such, any VFR operator in Class E airspace will be required to have: 

    1. IFR ADS-B OUT; or

    2. Mode S transponder; or

    3. Mode A/C transponder; or

    4. Integrated Traffic Awareness Beacon System (TABS) device

  • How does this affect sailplane gliding in regional Victoria?

    Vneviv asked about 3 years ago

    If the airspace in which the glider operations are occurring is currently base of controlled airspace FL125, then there will be no change.

    If the airspace is within the scope of the proposal (see downloadable maps on the engage page), then any sailplane gliding will be required to meet with the existing equipage requirements (radio and transponder) for Class E airspace.